"When Sheila Miller
was struggling with an English assignment, the 58-year-old online
learner sought help from another student 38 years younger and nearly
2,000 miles away." according to Rick Vacek, Senior writer at Grand Canyon University.

Felicia Roberts, 20, is one of the learning advocates (LEADs) who help guide older learners … Photo: Ralph Freso

Her lifeline was Felicia Roberts, a Grand Canyon
University senior and learning advocate, or LEAD, who is part of an
innovative program that pairs high-achieving, 20-something students on
campus with online distance learners age 40 and over.

In several phone
conversations, Roberts guided Miller through the nuts and bolts of
writing citations and research techniques for required papers. Equally
important, the 20-year-old Sociology major turbo-blasted Miller’s
confidence.“Felicia’s bionic, able to help me with all kinds of work and keep me
motivated,” said Miller, a part-time caterer in Detroit and mother of
seven working toward a degree in Christian Studies.“Working with Felicia makes me feel like I belong back in school and,
although I am far away, that I really am a part of GCU. With her help, I
know I will succeed.”That, according to Trish Anderson, program manager for Student Development and Outreach, is exactly what the LEAD program is designed to accomplish.“Our learning advocates are more than just good with content. They
are like great balls of sunshine, following GCU’s mission of serving and
supporting,” she said.“LEADs are Christian-hearted students who let online students know that they are here to walk alongside them.”The Roberts-Miller relationship reflects a paradigm shift in academic
assistance. The traditional formula pairs older, experienced teachers
with younger, eager learners. LEAD upends the norm.Today at GCU, tech-savvy, brainiac millennials are offering English
and math help to Generation X, Baby Boomers and The Greatest Generation,
many out of school for decades and newcomers to digital learning.“The last time I took a class, it was with paper and pen in a classroom,” Miller said...

Starts with English and mathThe LEAD program for 40-and-over online students was launched last
June by the Learning Lounge, the heralded GCU program — led by Executive
Director Joe Veres — that provides free academic
assistance to both GCU students and K-12 students attending nearby
schools. Ten of the Learning Lounge’s staff of 75 “LEAD”ers are assigned
to the new online service.Their assistance focuses on entry-level English and math, two
building-block subjects that returning students must master before
enrolling in additional classes. Learning advocates help students in
30-minute telephone sessions and, when necessary, with screen-sharing
technologies.The program operates as a two-way street. Online students can call to
schedule appointments, and online instructors can flag students who
need help.GCU’s full-time online teaching staff and learning advocates work
closely together, sharing information and insight in a coordinated
effort to help online students succeed.Online instructors also offer one-on-one help to students, but many
are more comfortable working with other students, even those decades
younger.Read more...Source: GCU Today

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Hello, my name is Helge Scherlund and I am the Education Editor and Online Educator of this personal weblog and the founder of eLearning • Computer-Mediated Communication Center.
I have an education in the teaching adults and adult learning from Roskilde University, with Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) and Human Resource Development (HRD) as specially studied subjects. I am the author of several articles and publications about the use of decision support tools, e-learning and computer-mediated communication. I am a member of The Danish Mathematical Society (DMF), The Danish Society for Theoretical Statistics (DSTS) and an individual member of the European Mathematical Society (EMS). Note: Comments published here are purely my own and do not reflect those of my current or future employers or other organizations.